For millions of women in poorer countries, a do-it-yourself smear could help thwart cancer, New Scientist reports.

About 85% of cervical cancer cases occur in developing countries, where it’s rare to screen for pre-cancerous changes: it’s difficult to obtain samples, and there’s a shortage of scientists to interpret them.

One alternative is to test for DNA from the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes the disease. Qiagen in Maryland created a kit that lets women collect their own cell samples, which are then sent to a lab.

Janet Fang has written for Nature, Discover and the Point Reyes Light. She is currently a lab technician at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. She holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University. She is based in New York.
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